Saturday, 16 February 2008

What is it with people? I can't work out if they are thick skinned, arrogant, or just plain stupid.

1) This morning I opened an email from none other than the Doctor's wife -

We are back in Dallas and wondered if you heard anything about getting proper papers to ship us the Blue Footed Booby (+ 2 smaller birds) case.

I also want to, once again, apologize for my haste in purchasing the Rhinoceros Hornbill skull, without first checking to see if one was already in my sizable collection. It was good of you to return the money.

Does this woman honestly think I bought her story? Of the 45 different species of Hornbills, this is among the rarest and most memorable. If one has an example, one would know. I can't help but wonder if her friend the other natural history dealer's example was as good as ours. I'm sure it was cheaper, but was it better?Does she think I am going to waste any more of my time contacting our shipper, after already wasting 2 hours going to her hotel to drop off her refund?

2) A collector that I dubbed the Weasel years ago when we first started, turned up today. The Weasel is the type of person who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The worst type of collector, and the reason I make it a point not to deal with them. When we were first starting out, he was desperate to get our best pieces for nothing. An insinuating, opportunistic parasite. I simply ignored him, because if I had engaged him, I knew I would have ended up swinging for him (an English expression for being hanged for murder). Today he had the gall to ask about our Indian Rhinoceros. I simply told him it wasn't for sale. True to form, he insisted I take his name and number should anything change. Did he think I had forgotten him? Or, did he just underestimate how much one person could possibly loathe another?

3) Now for an item more than a few people, including the American family who misheard the price and thought it was 1,800 and not the 5,800 it is priced, have wasted my time on. Our lion-skin rug, a true relic of England's colonial past and the once trophy of Gentleman Jim Corbett. After already having given him the price and a great deal of shifting things around so Mr Smooth could have a better look - I am informed I will have to do much better on the price. Better being 1/3 off of what I originally quoted. Like the Doctor's wife, Mr Smooth is waiting for a call to let him know what I have decided.

My Grandmother had a saying, "that, and God's face you will never see."

HOBAC, hang in there. My retail experience left me with a distaste for most people. Perhaps why I like this blog things so much -- a community of like-minded people who seem to take pains being polite (for the most part.)

My Yia-Yia has a saying, too: "Sh*t or get off the pot." Tire-kickers need not apply.

The rug sounds fantastic. If it's still there when I hit the lottery, you'll be hearing from me. At the moment I'm off to knock over a bank. My tailor's bill is due.

No, although my grandfather started as a mounted state trooper (4th in the state), transitioned to motorcycles and wound up in a car. My Yia-Yia, at 92 years of age, however, still drives. Well she will once she gets over physical therapy from the heart valve repair.... Stronger even than the coffee she percolates.